[This is a red hot topic that remains to be argued to this very day. Should we as christians engage in the listening of 'secular' music? For me, I think the obvious answer is yes. If we enjoy a band, why should we let our religion interfere with that? What is a band doing to us that makes it unethical to listen to them? Sure, we should not listen to songs that insult our religion, but after that fact, what is wrong with it? And what about all these new bands that act all satanic?]
[I think that most bands appear to be 'satanic' because that is whats' 'cool' these days. There have been a sudden crop of them in the past two years or so. I am a big fan of metal music, and have increasingly become annoyed, because as time goes on, metal is considered bands like 'Cradle of Filth' instead of bands like 'KoRn' or 'Metallica.' In fact, Ozzy Ozbourne has been placed in the 'alternative' category before, in these modern times. When i grew up, metal was bands like Metallica and Pantera. Cradle of Filth was called 'Death Metal' or 'Black Metal.']
[Anyway, to stay on topic, I think that you can enjoy a band no matter what the band members believe, as long as you aren't listening to songs that insult our religion. I like a lot of Marilyn Manson songs, and I say this with pride and no regret. His self image is full of 'keep away' signs but you may be surprised to note that a lot of his songs are quite enjoyable. Mind you, you need to be a fan of metal to enjoy them, but my statement stands. There are a LOT of songs by Manson that don't even reference god. I've seen him speak on tv, and when asked about religion, he replied that he "has respect for a persons' beliefs." He is simply writing what he, as an atheist, feels.He has some anti-god songs and you know what? I don't listen to them. Easy. I also love Nine inch Nails, and Trent Reznor is a very extreme non believer]
[If we believe that the bands we listen to HAVE to believe in Jesus, then where do we draw the line? Do we stop talking to people on the street because they are nonbelievers? No. We only stop talking to them if they are disrespectful to our religion by knocking it in front of us, or insulting us. Bands aren't really doing that all the time. Sure, there are a lot of bands that sing about 'Screw you Christians' or something to that effect, but I haven't heard that out of Manson or Reznor once. They believe in what they believe in, and that's why they make songs about it sometimes; because they need to express themselves too. Ever made a song about Jesus? Well, that's what atheists do sometimes too. Its' not usually about making us angry]
[We humans feel a wide array of emotions. We as humans feel compelled to write about them. In this way, we sometimes write about our beliefs. This is, in no way, an attack against other religions. In fact, when we are expressing ourselves about it, we aren't typically thinking of other religions at all. For instance, if you write a song about Jesus, are you thinking of Buddaism? I think not. I think, in fact, that such things are far from your mind. You are simply happy to be a christian and are expressing your love for Jesus]
[Sometimes, the christians pointing the fingers are at fault. Now, I'm not saying that being against a band is bad, or that you've commited sin. What I AM saying is that sometimes, those that are against people listening to 'secular' music are actually very baised. For example, do you consider the bands that teenagers listen to as secular music, but think Elvis Presely isn't secular? That sounds a bit fishy to me. We as youth find what type of music we like, and our parents usually hate it. Then, as we age, we grow to hate what is 'new' in the music world. By the time we are 60, there is nothing 'good' to us anymore. All the bands we grew up with have retired, but we still spin those albums. This is a pattern that we follow throughout history! Your parents hated your music, and your parents' parents hated theirs]
[What am I getting at? I'll tell you; a lot of older christians label newer music as 'secular' not because they believe the members of the band to be anti-god, but because they despise the music, so they unknowingly are chastising those bands, calling them anti-god when, in fact, you just hate the music! I'll be honest, I hate Emo music! I am 22 and already I can see the music world change rapidly before my eyes, and I don't like it. But one thing I will NEVER do is automatically run out and declare that listening to those bands as an anti christian thing. Think hard. Do you like Elvis? Maybe the Beatles? Do you also, on that note, consider modern music to be secular or non christian? If you do, I want you to think about that. I'm pretty sure some of the bands you listen to had members that WEREN'T christian, so how is it any different? Weren't the seventies filled with songs about getting high? Does listening to that make you non christian, or make you a drug addict? I don't think so]
[I'm about done, I suppose, lol. I hope I haven't offended anyone, for that is NOT my intention here. I just want to call it as I see it. Fans of the seventies call the eighties secular. Fans of the sixties call the seventies secular. The fifties fans call the sixties secular and so on. I know that not everyone is guilty of this, but I think that a lot are. Sometimes, in my christian life, I would do things that weren't very christian, without realizing it. You can judge someone without knowing it. The important thing is to learn from it. With that said, why not look at your beliefs on music at this very moment? You might find you have been judging music to be ungodly simply because you never grew up with the music. And the whole "This isn't music, its' noise" argument falls on deaf ears. When you were a teenager, your parents said the same thing]
[Well, I think I've said enough about this for now. Feel free to post your opinions, but remember to attack the topic, not the poster >_^]
[I think that most bands appear to be 'satanic' because that is whats' 'cool' these days. There have been a sudden crop of them in the past two years or so. I am a big fan of metal music, and have increasingly become annoyed, because as time goes on, metal is considered bands like 'Cradle of Filth' instead of bands like 'KoRn' or 'Metallica.' In fact, Ozzy Ozbourne has been placed in the 'alternative' category before, in these modern times. When i grew up, metal was bands like Metallica and Pantera. Cradle of Filth was called 'Death Metal' or 'Black Metal.']
[Anyway, to stay on topic, I think that you can enjoy a band no matter what the band members believe, as long as you aren't listening to songs that insult our religion. I like a lot of Marilyn Manson songs, and I say this with pride and no regret. His self image is full of 'keep away' signs but you may be surprised to note that a lot of his songs are quite enjoyable. Mind you, you need to be a fan of metal to enjoy them, but my statement stands. There are a LOT of songs by Manson that don't even reference god. I've seen him speak on tv, and when asked about religion, he replied that he "has respect for a persons' beliefs." He is simply writing what he, as an atheist, feels.He has some anti-god songs and you know what? I don't listen to them. Easy. I also love Nine inch Nails, and Trent Reznor is a very extreme non believer]
[If we believe that the bands we listen to HAVE to believe in Jesus, then where do we draw the line? Do we stop talking to people on the street because they are nonbelievers? No. We only stop talking to them if they are disrespectful to our religion by knocking it in front of us, or insulting us. Bands aren't really doing that all the time. Sure, there are a lot of bands that sing about 'Screw you Christians' or something to that effect, but I haven't heard that out of Manson or Reznor once. They believe in what they believe in, and that's why they make songs about it sometimes; because they need to express themselves too. Ever made a song about Jesus? Well, that's what atheists do sometimes too. Its' not usually about making us angry]
[We humans feel a wide array of emotions. We as humans feel compelled to write about them. In this way, we sometimes write about our beliefs. This is, in no way, an attack against other religions. In fact, when we are expressing ourselves about it, we aren't typically thinking of other religions at all. For instance, if you write a song about Jesus, are you thinking of Buddaism? I think not. I think, in fact, that such things are far from your mind. You are simply happy to be a christian and are expressing your love for Jesus]
[Sometimes, the christians pointing the fingers are at fault. Now, I'm not saying that being against a band is bad, or that you've commited sin. What I AM saying is that sometimes, those that are against people listening to 'secular' music are actually very baised. For example, do you consider the bands that teenagers listen to as secular music, but think Elvis Presely isn't secular? That sounds a bit fishy to me. We as youth find what type of music we like, and our parents usually hate it. Then, as we age, we grow to hate what is 'new' in the music world. By the time we are 60, there is nothing 'good' to us anymore. All the bands we grew up with have retired, but we still spin those albums. This is a pattern that we follow throughout history! Your parents hated your music, and your parents' parents hated theirs]
[What am I getting at? I'll tell you; a lot of older christians label newer music as 'secular' not because they believe the members of the band to be anti-god, but because they despise the music, so they unknowingly are chastising those bands, calling them anti-god when, in fact, you just hate the music! I'll be honest, I hate Emo music! I am 22 and already I can see the music world change rapidly before my eyes, and I don't like it. But one thing I will NEVER do is automatically run out and declare that listening to those bands as an anti christian thing. Think hard. Do you like Elvis? Maybe the Beatles? Do you also, on that note, consider modern music to be secular or non christian? If you do, I want you to think about that. I'm pretty sure some of the bands you listen to had members that WEREN'T christian, so how is it any different? Weren't the seventies filled with songs about getting high? Does listening to that make you non christian, or make you a drug addict? I don't think so]
[I'm about done, I suppose, lol. I hope I haven't offended anyone, for that is NOT my intention here. I just want to call it as I see it. Fans of the seventies call the eighties secular. Fans of the sixties call the seventies secular. The fifties fans call the sixties secular and so on. I know that not everyone is guilty of this, but I think that a lot are. Sometimes, in my christian life, I would do things that weren't very christian, without realizing it. You can judge someone without knowing it. The important thing is to learn from it. With that said, why not look at your beliefs on music at this very moment? You might find you have been judging music to be ungodly simply because you never grew up with the music. And the whole "This isn't music, its' noise" argument falls on deaf ears. When you were a teenager, your parents said the same thing]
[Well, I think I've said enough about this for now. Feel free to post your opinions, but remember to attack the topic, not the poster >_^]
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